Insecticidal unit



Oct. 18, 1955 V. R. RUPP INSECTICIDAL UNIT Filed Nov. 20 1952 INVENTOR. I/YFGJIL F. F02 2,

Mam/7% United 1 SW6 Pa f F 2,721,099 INSECTICIDAL UNIT v R. Rupp, Indianapolis, Ind. Application November-20,1952, Serial No. 321,567 '7 Claims. Cl. 299-24 growth of the larvae; and since collections in most cities are'made only at intervals of three days to a week, it frequently happens that maggots and other larvae will be found in sucha can in disgusting and noisome numbers. 7 I have found that para-dichlorobenzene vapors,'if reasonably well confined in such a can in suitable quantities, tends to discourage the entry of insects into the can, kills many such insects-when they do enter the can, inhibits the hatching of insect eggs, and kills many forms of newly-hatched larvae. "The problem of maintaining a suitable and-effective quantity of such vapors within the can, however, is not-withoutdificulty, for reasons which will' appear' -hereinafter; and the present invention is particularly directed toward-the provision of an insecticidal unitwhich, 'as an article of comrnerce inexpensive to manufacture, convenient in form for commercial distribution, and simple forthe-ultimate user-to handle-and to install, will'solve those 'difficulties in an unusually facile, economical and eificient fashion.

H The primary object of the invention is to provide a unit of" the above type" having self-contained means ;for easily and quickly fastening the'u'nit tothe inner "surface of the lid or cover of a garbage can, or the like.

A further object is to provide such a unit which, by the use of a disposable portion, provides its own substan tially vaportight package in which it can be sold.

A still further object is to provide an insecticidal material, for use in the unit, possessing novel characteristics.

Another object is to provide a novel and effective means for holding the insecticidal material in place against effective loss or accidental dislodgment at the high temperatures to which it is sometimes subjected.

Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

Fig. l is a bottom plan view of the container comprising a part of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the unit taken substantially on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of my unit and 2,721,099 Patented Oct. 18 ,1955

the lid of a can with which it is intended primarily for use; and j Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through a can .of the type to which my unit is intended primarily for use, showing my unit in association therewith.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that my invention comprises a relatively'shallow box or similar container 10 open at one end and closed at the other end by a bottom 11. A lid '12 is telescopically received on box 10, said lid providing a substantially vapor-tight seal for the box until it is ready for use, at which time the lid is removed and thrown away.

A block of insecticidal material '13, later to be described, is placed in the 'box. To efiectively hold the material against dislodgment therefrorrnI provide a pad 14 of porous material such as felt orthe like, preferably provided with a base 14 of rubber or the like. Fad 14 is placed in the bottom of the box, prior to depositing material 13 therein. 7 Box bottom 11 is formed with a perforation 15, and a slit 16 is formed in pad 14 in registry with perforation 15. Fastening means 17, having a headed portion 18 and a bifurcated shank portion 19 is passed through the slit and the perforation, and the head ispulled tightly against pad 14 to hold itin intimate contact with the interior of bottom ll. Preferably, for obvious reasons, thebifurcated shank portion .19 is then oppositely spread to bring the sections 20 and 21 thereof into substantial parallelism with bottom-'11.-

" Fastening means .17 has a two-fold function: it acts to hold pad 14=in box 10,;and further is-the means whereby the unit is afftxed to the lid of a garbage can. The

latter function is accomplished in the following manner: the lid 22 of'a garbage can 23 is conventionally provided with a small vent hole 24 therein. To fastenthe unit to the lid 22, the elements 20 and 21 of shank-portion 19'are again brought into substantially parallel juxtaposition, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and shank-19 is projected throughhole 24. Thereafter, elements 20 and-2ljare spread to effectively retain the unit in the lid, as shown in Fig.4. e

: As before stated, pad 14 is placed in box 10 prior. to the dispositionof material 13 therein. Material 13 is poured into the boxin a liquid state, thoroughly impregriating pad '14.. After the material solidifies, the: cake, thus formed, is intimately bound to pad 14,-the pad in turn being fixed to-the box by fastener 17. Such'an arrangethem presents a simple, inexpensive andfacile way of fixing the material against dislodgment from can 10.

The insecticidal agent which I prefer to use is paradichlorobenzene, this material being widely recognized for its insecticidal properties. This material vaporizes at ordinary atmospheric temperatures but has a melting point of 127 F. The vapor of para-dichlorobenzene is heavier than air, and therefore, as long as the block 13 is held in place at the top of the closed can, the atmosphere within the can will include a substantial amount of the vapor, well distributed throughout the height of the can. Since the interior of a garbage can, standing in the sun on a hot summer day, reaches temperatures equal to or in excess of the melting point of para-dichlorobenzene, that substance, if used alone, would melt and fall into the refuse at the bottom of the can, thereby completely destroying the unit. Under such circumstances, of course, the atmosphere above the refuse would be substantially free of para-dichlorobenzene vapors. I have found, however, that this can be prevented by providing, as a holder for the paradichlorobenzene, another substance having a melting point substantially higher than that of para-dichlorobenzene.

My problem was to find a material which would dissolve in para-dichlorobenzene but which would have a substantially higher melting point. For this purpose, I chose anthracene, whose melting point is about 428 F., well subjected under ordinary use. Anthracene will, however, dissolve in molten para-dichlorobenzene at elevated temperatures. Conveniently the cake 13 is prepared by melting the requisite amount of paradichlorobenzene, dissolving a desired amount of anthracene therein, and then pouring the molten solution into the container 10 and permitting it to solidify under atmospheric conditions. I have found that as little as 1% anthracene in solution with para-dichlorobenzene will materially aid in preventing the loss, by melting, of the para-dichlorobenzene, and that as much as 50% anthracene will not make the cake of material so hard as to render it ineffective. However, a solution of 90% para-dichlorobenzene and 10% anthracene by weight, has proven optimum. Other holder materials, chemically and physically analogous'to anthracene, may be used in place of anthracene.

a In the currently-distributed form of my invention, I

prefer to use commercial anthracene which is approximately 90% pure." When 10% by weight of such anthracene is dissolved in 90% by weight of molten paradichlorobenzene at temperatures in the neighborhood of 200 F.,'the anthracene begins to crystallize out at about 185 F., as the solution cools. When the cake has completely solidified, it is ready for use, and will retain its solidity and physical integrity even when subjected'to the severe conditions above outlined. Thus, when the temperature within the garbage can 23 rises to or above 127 F., the para-dichlorobenzene begins to melt; but the crystals of anthracene remain undissolved at temperatures below 185 F., and act as a holder, analogous to a sponge, to retain the molten material against dripping from the cake. Atthe same time, since the physical'integrity of thecake is maintained, the cake is retained in place in the box 10. 7

If desired, the upstanding perimetral wall of the con- 7 tainer 10 may be deformed, as by an internal or an external bead or spaced protuberances, to provide further anchoring means for the cake 13.

' I claim as my invention: 1. An article of 'manufacture comprising a relatively shallow container open at one end and closed at the other end thereof, said container having a perforation through said other end, fastening means having a headed portion disposed within said'container adjacent said other end, and a bifurcated shank portion projecting through said perforation, and a porous pad having a slit therein registera ing with said container perforation, said shank portion projecting through said slit to confine said pad between said, headed portion and said other end of said container.

above the temperature to which the unit would ever be 2. An articletof manufacture comprising arelatively shallow box open at one end and closed at the other end thereof, said box having a perforation through said other, end, a pad of porous material having a slit therein registering with the perforation in said other end, fastening means having a headed portion and a bifurcated shank portion, said shank projecting through said slit and said perforation, and said headed portion engaging said pad to confine the same between said headed portion and the inner surface of said other box end, and a lid removably fixed to said box to close the openren d thereof.

3. An insecticidal unit comprising a relatively shallow container open at one end and closed at the other end thereof, said container having a perforation through said other end, a pad of porous material disposed within said container in contact with said other end and having a slit therethrough registering with said container perforation,

fastening means having a headed portion and a bifurcated,

shank portion, said shank portion passing through said slit and said perforation with said headed portion ongaging said pad to clamp said pad between said headed portion and said other end, and a cake of insecticidal material; the insecticidal material of said cake impregnating said pad to bind said'cake intimately to said pad.

4. The device of claim 3 including a lid removably fixed to said container to close the open end thereof.

5. The unit of claim 3 in which said insecticidal material comprises a'solid solution of para-dichlorobenzene and anthracene. a V

6. The unit of claim 57in which said solution comprises not less than 1% nor more than 50% anthracene. i

7. An insecticide material comprising asolution of para; dichlorobenzene and anthracene in which said solution comprises not lessthan 1% nor more than 50%' anthracene.

References Cited in the file of this patent- UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Nov 23, 193 1 

